About the Rover

“A pub is a poor man’s university”
Anonymous

In Ireland — where they’ve raised community and relaxation to an art form — the pub is the social center. It’s a place to meet family, friends, or business associates, catch up on news, debate politics, share a joke. It is a place of character and cadence rather than impersonal efficiency.

Also important is our location in the friendly and historic Clifton-Crescent Hill neighborhood of Louisville, is a 150-year-old building which began life as a saloon. The business also included a grocery and dry goods store much like the old-time Irish pubs. More recently, it was the home and plasterworks of the Matteis, a couple known for extending a warm welcome amid quantities of homemade wine. We are proud to continue the building’s longstanding tradition of hospitality.
At The Irish Rover, we’ve tried to recreate this idea. We can’t build a smoky peat fire in the grate, but our recipes are authentic, the Guinness is shipped from Dublin, and the owner’s brogue comes direct from County Clare.

As we enter our twenty-second year of business, we want to thank you, the people who have enthusiastically adopted the joys of pub culture at The Irish Rover and at Irish Rover, Too. We are grateful for your custom and, most especially, for your friendship.